ORCHID TALES: The Adventures of George and Matilda

De: Harold Koopowitz

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

The George and Matilda stories all revolve about events or facts that concern orchids. The stories range from the discovery of rare plants in the long ago past to the extinction of species in a future time. The stories are unique in that while each tale takes place in a different time era and country, the characters and their personalities always remain the same. George and Matilda are usually accompanied by George’s best friend William and Matilda’s great-aunt Bertha. Most of these stories were originally published in the "Orchid Digest" and a few of those were also translated for the Russian magazine "Orchid World." This book contains 21 short stories; six of these are new and have never been published before. The tales are filled with adventure and tongue-in-cheek humor. Each story ends with a synopsis of the facts behind that adventure. The story "Tea, Tigers and Spice" takes place in 19th Century Bhutan where our heroes are natives on a tea plantation. They must deal with a ferocious tiger and a German orchid thief looking for the locality of a newly discovered slipper orchid. Among the stories, "Dog’s Stones and Lycanthropes" is set in medieval England where George and William search for a plant they believe will help Matilda conceive a boy baby. Along the way they encounter a hairy man who might be a werewolf. "The Source of the Nile" has George and William as native porters in East Africa with the famous explorer Speke as he discovers Lake Victoria. In another story, "A Known Fact," set in Hawai’i in the 1950s, William is kidnapped and held for ransom and it is up to Matilda to save the day. One tale, "Nature of the Beast," is set in 1880 on a steamship crossing the Atlantic from England to Venezuela. Here George and Matilda are sent by Frederic Sander to search for the desirable white orchid, Masdevallia tovarensis, and must deal with a spy sent by a rival firm. These stories will appeal not only to plant and orchid lovers but also anyone who enjoys fun short stories.